Katrina Gaffney, External Affairs Intern, Money and Mental Health

• Lloyds Bank Block Gambling Transactions
• Can Lloyds Bank Block Gambling
• Lloyds Bank Gambling Block Software

Tackling the psychological and financial harm caused by problem gambling has been a key aim for Money and Mental Health since the beginning. In particular, we’ve long called for financial firms to give people the tools they need to block spending on gambling, as well as other purchases. These tools could make a big difference in helping people better manage their money and avoid financial difficulty.

Lloyds recruits Gamban’s gambling blocking software Gamban has unveiled a partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, enabling customers of Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax to access its gambling blocking software. A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group said, “We continually review our products and procedures, and this is part of that.” Lloyds Banking Group made the announcement right after Facebook announced they will block any, and all advertising that promotes digital currencies services or products. A Blueprint for Bank Card Gambling Blockers 3 This report. This report is about the use of debit and credit card technology to block spending on gambling. It is the first UK review of the availability, uptake, and effectiveness of bank card gambling blockers. Hi A friend has received a Parking charge notice for over staying, but they did not firstly the wife visited the car park and went to Morrisons at 13.30 and stayed for 15 minutes the later that afternoon her husband went to the part of the car park next to the town at 18.25ish and left at 18.52 It is noticeable on there photographs the leaving photo that the number plate is dirty How would you. Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and MBNA also offer card freeze features providing customers more choice and support in this area. Over 15,000 debit and credit card customers across these four brands have already signed up to the new gambling card controls since launch at the end of October. Read the full release here.

This campaign has been gathering momentum over the past few years, and yesterday we heard the exciting news that HSBC has announced that it will be the latest bank to offer customers a gambling block. This will include a cooling off period, which means people who have switched the block on will have to wait 24 hours before switching it off. Moreover, HSBC has said it they will analyse data on card spending to see who would benefit most from advice – a move that echoes the recommendations in our latest Data Protecting report.

This follows the news in recent weeks that Lloyds’ gambling block is now live for customers. These advancements mark another milestone in the evolution of spending blocks from being a speciality feature driven by challenger banks, to a tool being offered across the financial sector – including by a number of major highstreet banks.

We thought that this was a good opportunity to recap on why spending blocks matter, and to look at how these tools have been adopted across the financial services sector.

Why are gambling blocks useful?

Mental health problems can lead people to become problem gamblers, increase the harm caused by problem gambling, and make it harder to quit. Our research has highlighted that people experiencing mental health problems can often struggle with impulse control and this can make people more susceptible to problem gambling.

The negative consequences of problem gambling can be severe, and not just for an individual’s financial situation – problem gambling can cause significant psychological distress and even lead to relationship break down. However, it can be difficult for people who struggle with problem gambling to quit. This is especially true in a society where people are so frequently exposed to gambling products and such products have become so easy to access. Giving individuals the ability to block gambling payments on their cards is an opportunity to limit the harmful effects of problem gambling and help people who are struggling with managing their impulse control.

What are banks currently offering?

More and more firms are giving customers the option to block gambling payments in some form – but what this looks like varies between banks. Here’s what we know banks are offering so far:

• Monzo also has a gambling block available through it’s app – once this has been turned on, customers need to speak to a member of the customer services team and then wait 48 hours if they want to turn the block off
• Starling offers the option for customers to block spending on gambling through their app. When an individual turns the block off they receive a message signposting to the National Gambling Helpline
• Barclays customers can block gambling payment through their online banking app with a button that can be instantly switched on and off
• Natwest offers a gambling block on credit cards but not debit cards
• Santander offers a gambling block through their money management app – ‘Spendlytics’
• Lloyds is now offering offer a gambling block which takes 48 hours to deactivate once it has been turned on.

Lloyds Bank Block Gambling Transactions

Do we need more friction?

The amount of ‘friction’ customers face when turning off gambling blocks is a really important consideration for banks developing these features, and we were particularly pleased to see both Lloyds and HSBC include a ‘cooling off’ period. This can help give people time to reflect on their decisions and minimise the harm of impulsive decisions. Monzo’s focus on ensuring people speak to someone from the customer services team before switching off the block (which only comes into action 48 hours later) is another feature which we’d like other firms to consider.

It is great to see so many firms in the banking industry starting to offer spending blocks as a way of helping customers manage their finances. In the coming years, we hope to see many more firms offering similar tools, and building on this progress by ensuring friction is at the heart of their designs.

Three UK high street banks have followed in the footsteps of Barclays in introducing measures to allow customers the ability to restrict certain transactions. Lloyds, Santander and RBS will allow customers to block gambling operator payments.

Three further banks have introduced software to block certain transactions being made. © Pexels.

Barclays pioneered the move in blocking gambling transactions in December last year, allowing the customer to control and block particular payments via mobile applications. Three more UK high street banks, Lloyds, Santander, and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) have now followed suit. They have approved a proposal to develop payment-blocking functions that will affect transactions made in high street bookmakers as well as online betting sites.

Barclays was the first to make these changes when they announced a plan to integrate a ‘gambling block’ component across its customer-facing digital platforms. The main aim of this bold step is to protect clients, especially those who have any issues with compulsive gambling. The new changes are simply an upgrade to the mobile banking apps and will give customers control over when and where money can be spent.

RBS is one of the biggest banks in Europe with a customer base of about 30 million, Lloyds has approximately 22 million customers and Santander has a client base of about 14 million. Customers of these three banks join the 24 million Barclays customers who already have access to this facility.

The new gambling-block feature allows the customers to turn off engagements with any product related to gambling. Furthermore, the ability to block transactions is not just limited to gambling, with customers also able to prevent other transactions. These come under four subsections, which are petrol stations, premium websites and phone lines, food and drink purchases and supermarkets.

The customer will also have the ability to manage and limit withdrawals from cashpoints, in-store and online purchases, and credit card purchases.

Can Lloyds Bank Block Gambling

A spokesman for Lloyds said that they have a plan to enhance customer engagement by improving their communications to regularly inform the users on their gambling expenditure over a specified period of time. He said:

Lloyds Bank Gambling Block Software

Throughout 2019 we will be enhancing our customer communications so customers are informed and alerted to their gambling spend, as well as introducing tools to improve self-service options such as gambling restrictions.–Statement Lloyds Bank

The move by Barclays last year to empower customers has forced other banks to follow suit and has been widely welcomed by harm reduction agencies. It is likely to be rolled out by other key players in the financial markets.

Charity GambleAware is pleased that the high street banks are offering these facilities. He said that his organisation was fully behind the initiative and that the blocking functions will help the more than 340,000 compulsive gamblers in Britain. He believes a further 1.7 million are at the risk of falling to the same fate. He further added that such initiatives play an important role in reducing if not stopping gambling related effects and harm.